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Zohran Mamdani, the frontrunner for mayor and a Democratic socialist, is looking to fund city-run grocery stores using taxpayer funds that are nonexistent.
The Queens state assemblyman who won the Democratic primary last Tuesday has claimed on the campaign trail that he would pull $140 million from city subsidies directed at “corporate grocery stores,” but that pot of money is actually what the private businesses part of a program called “City Fresh” have invested over a 12-year span.
The only public funds that have been doled out as part of the program was $30 million in tax breaks that have been provided to the participating grocers over that same span, according to city websites.
Overall, 27 grocery stores meant to alleviate food deserts across the five boroughs have benefited from the “City Fresh” tax subsidies since the program first started.
The Mamdani campaign didn’t immediately return a request for comment Tuesday morning.